Method of and means for changing the width of a knitted fabric during the knitting operation



y 1950 J. H. STRAUSSBERGER 2,507,534

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR CHANGING THE WIDTH OF A KNITTED FABRIC DURING THE KNITTING OPERATION Filed June 24, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 5, 1950 J. H. STRAUSSBERGER 2,507,534

METHOD OF MEANS FOR CHANGING WIDTH OF A ING THE KNITTED F RIC DUR KNITT OPERAT Filed June 24, 1947 2 eets-Sheet 2 3| I 1 I32 120 I35 I20 |3| '33, 7| H0 7| 6 ms 55 I 0 2: v. I f z.- I66 no I05 6 I0] I02! xl7| A 2, 3 100d Patented May 16, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR CHANGING THE WIDTH OF A KNITTED FABRIC DUR- ING THE KNITTING OPERATION John H. Straussberger, Chattanooga,

Tenn.

Application June 24, 1947, Serial No. 756,692

Claims.

This invention relates to the method of and means for changing the width of a knitted fabric during the knitting operation, and more particularly to the narrowing of knitted goods on a flat knitting machine, and has for an object to produce the narrowing in a single course to any extent desired up to substantially one-half of the previous width, this application being a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 560,220, filed October 25, 1944, for Method of and means for changing the width of a knitted fabric during the knitting operation.

More specifically the method of narrowing in accordance with this invention avoids the necessity of repeated picking off from a needle or set of needles of double thread loops. It therefore saves the wear of such repeated actions which may be undesirable, particularly with sheer fab- IlCS.

For a complete understanding of this invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a flat knitting machine arranged to narrow in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan View of the parts shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4, but showing a modification.

Figures 6 to are somewhat diagrammatic views showing successive steps in a multiple narrowing operation in accordance with this invention and using the mechanism of Figures 1 to 4.

Referring first to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, a portion of a flat knitting machine is illustrated, including the supporting frame members I within which is journaled the usual cam shaft 2. This cam shaft, as shown, has journaled thereon a beveled pinion 3 which is in mesh with a beveled gear 4 on a transverse shaft 5. This transverse shaft 5 is arranged to drive the usual Coulier motion which causes the parts to cooperate with the needles to perform the knitting cycles in the well known manner. The needles it are carried by the usual needle bar 8 l, which is given an up and down motion by a cam 52 on the shaft 2 through a cam follower 23 carried by an arm i l fixed to a rock shaft !5, rocker i6 pivoted to a link I? supporting the needle bar, completing this operative connection. The usual forward and back motions of the needle bar are derived from any suitable mechanism as is well known in the art and a portion of which is shown in Figure 2. The sinkers and dividers are moved backwardly and forwardly by a cam 25 on the shaft 2, acting upon a follower 26 carried by an arm 21 secured to a rock shaft 28. This rock shaft 23 is connected to the catch bar 29 through the pivoted links 30 and 3|. A pair of curved arms fulcrumed at the back of the machine on the shaft 36 and projecting forwardly thereover carry a rod 40 which has bearings M thereon through which are slidably guided point carrier rods 42 and 43. The rod ill has arms 45 depending therefrom, the lower ends of which are pivoted to links 46 fulcrumed at 41 at the forward portion of the machine, and a cam follower roll 48 fulcrumed on each of the links 46 and engaging on a cam 49 on the shaft 2 serves to swing the forward end of the arms 35 upwardly or downwardly, causing the combs 59, one fixed to the bar 42 and the other to the bar 3-3, to be lifted into inoperative position or lowered into position for their points Hill to take loops of thread on or off the needles for the width-changing operations. The width-changing rods 52 and 43 have stops 54 and 55, respectively, which are pressed into engagement with the adjacent faces of the nuts 56 and 51, respectively, threaded on reverse direction threaded portions 58 and 59 of a spindle 6i) journaled in bearings 5| and 62. The nuts are held against rotation with the spindle 69 by extensions 63 thereon slidably guided on a guide rod 64 extending between the bearings 6! and (52. The bearings 61 and 62 also have rearward extensions 65 within which is mounted a guide bar 66. On this guide bar is slidably guided a rearward extension 6'! of a carrier rod nut 'Hl threaded onto a screw H. A carrier rod 72, suitably guided for axial motion, has a stop 13 arranged to engage the inner face of the carrier nut 10. The carrier rod 12 has secured thereto the yarn carrier 74 which is reciprocated to lay the yarn for successive courses by reciprocation of a friction box rod 15 to which is secured 'a friction box It through which the carrier rod 12 passes and by which it is frictionally gripped.

.As is well known in the art, the friction rod is moved laterally in a path of constant amplitude, but the amplitude of reciprocation of the yarn carrier rod 12 is limited by the setting of the nut '10 at one end of its travel and by a c0rresponding nut (not shown) travelling on a screw ll like that shown in Figure 3, but facing in the opposite direction. Thus the two stop nuts are moved from and toward each other by equal amounts at each actuation of either, this determining the length of the path of motion of the yarn carrier in accordance with the width of the goods being knitted at any one time.

The transfer of needle loops to effect the width changing operation is accomplished by the turning of the shaft II in timed relation with the relative lowering and lifting of the needles I5I and the points I50 in predetermined cycles. According to the present invention such cycles are repeated a plurality of times in a single course. At some convenient time Or times during the number of loop transferring cycles-performed in a single course to produce the desired extent of width change, the screw 60 is manipulated to change known types, it will be usually convenient to adjust the screw 60 simultaneously with certain of the turning impulses imparted to the shaft H as will. hereinafter appear.

During the width-changing operations, the threaded spindle 60 and the screw II are rotated step by step in the proper direction and this action takes place when the cam shaft 2 is in its axial position in which the clutch connection between it and the pinion 3 is opened so that the Coulier motion is inoperative.

For the present invention, however, instead of the Coulier motion being inoperative during only one narrowing or widening cycle, it is held out of operation during a plurality of such cycles. The mechanism commonly employed for throwing out the Coulier motion consists of a chain motion shown diagrammatically in Figure 1 at 90. An endless chain 9| carries a plurality of dogs, such as 92, which as the chain is driven through its endless path, act while in certain definite positions to interpose a cam follower 93 between a pair of cams 94 and 95 on the shaft 2 so formed as to produce the desired axial motion of the cam shaft 2 to move it out of its normal knitting axial position into its width-changing position. In previous constructions each dog 92 is short, being long enough only to hold the shaft 2 in widthchanging condition during a single width-changing cycle during a single rotation of the shaft 2. In accordance with the present invention a longer dog 92 is employed, its length being sufficient to hold the Coulier motion idle and the machine in width-changing condition dLuing the desired plurality of width-changing cycles.

The turning of the screw shafts 60 and TI is accomplished by ratchet mechanism, but for the present invention the ratchet mechanism, as herein shown, is somewhat modified from that commonly employed, and is shown particularly in Figure 4 for a multiple narrowing operation, each operation narrowing by two needle loops. The shaft 2 carries a cam IUfla having two lobes so that the arm I0! is given two up and down motions in a single rotation of the shaft. The screw shaft II is provided with a notched disk I with its spring detent I 30. The bifurcated link I05 has pivoted thereto a long ratchet dog I which engages a second ratchet wheel I65 on the screw shaft 60, the ratchet wheel I33 shown in Figure 4 also being attached to the same shaft back of the ratchet wheel I65 and with its ratchet teeth facing in the opposite direction. The link I I3a which connects the lower arms I II and I I2 of the pawls I09 and H0 is prolonged and is provided with a head I66, which may be engagedat certain times and pulled to the right by a hook E61. This hook I6! is mounted for lengthwise motion and has a cam follower roll I68 bearing on a cam face I69 of a bar I10, the lower end of which bears against a cam I'll also secured to the shaft 2, the cam I'lI having a single lobe at I12. The parts are so arranged that on one upward motion of the link I05, the pawl H09 engages the ratchet wheel I2I and rotates it by one tooth, and at the same time the pawl I I0 similarly rotates the shaft 60 by one tooth.

On the succeeding downward motion of the link I95, the dog I50 pulls downwardly and turns the ratchet wheel I65 in the reverse direction to its rotation on the previous upward motion and steps the shaft 69 back by one ratchet tooth. There are thus a forward and reverse motion of the shaft 60 to one forward motion of the shaft ll onthis up and down stroke of the arm I02. On the next up and down stroke of this arm, which occurs when the second lobe of the cam IUOa contacts the cam follower I0 I, the bar I79 has been raised by its cam I12, and this action has pushed the hook I61 to the right and swung both pawls I99 and H0 out of engagement with their respective ratchet wheels so that no forward motion of either shaft II or 6!] occurs. This hook 561', however, is not effective on the dog 558, so that on the next downward motion of the forked element I56, the shaft 60 is given another reverse direction rotation by this dog acting on the ratchet wheel III). In the complete rotation of the shaft 2, there has therefore been one inward motion of the yarn carrier stop, one inward motion of the narrowing comb, and two outward motions of the narrowing comb, all of the same amplitude.

With this arrangement the initial position of the narrowing comb is as shown in Figure 6, where the entire number of points corresponding to the complete extent of narrowing desired are in position to engage needle loops, the desired extent of narrowing being assumed to be four loops on each side. Each of these loops is then picked off from its needle and is moved inwardly a unit distance. This may be, as shown, two needles where the narrowing is to be done in two needle steps, or it might be done in one needle steps, if desired.

Figure 5 shows ratchet mechanism for producing the narrowing operation in one-needle steps. It is the same general mechanism as shown in Figure 4, except that each ratchet wheel has double the number of teeth shown in Figure 4, and the throw of the actuating cams is one-half as much. The corresponding elements in Figure 5 are therefore given the same numbers as on Figure 4, but with the addition of the (prime) mark.

Figures 6 to 10 are shown with the two needle narrowing at each cycle, the comb first engaging single loops on needles a to f, inclusive. Each loop is then transferred inwardly by two loops. The loops on needles 6 and f are delivered onto needles 9 and h, respectively, already having single loops thereon, as shown in Figure 6, while all of the points outwardly of these two needles deliver single loops by two needle spacings inwardly, single delivered loops then being on needles 0 and f, inclusive, needles a and b being free from loops. The points then are brought upwardly, leaving the needle loops in the position of Figure 7, and are moved outwardly while free from loops double the number of needles by which they were moved inwardly for the narrowing, into the position of Figure 8;

that is, if the points moved inwardly by two needles, they are moved outwardly in idle condition by four needles, and during this time the thread carrier remains in its two needle narrowed position of Figure 6.

The points then descend and take single loops from the two needles c and d spaced outwardly from the needles carrying the double loops by the two needles and f as shown in Figure 8, and these single loops are then carried over inwardly and delivered onto the next two inwardly positioned needles e and f as shown in Figure 9. This means that four of the needles e, f, g, and h at the extreme left hand edge of the fabric each have two loops of thread thereon, and the desired extent of narrowing by four loops on each side has been completed, the carrier stop limiting the position of the carrier 14 to just outwardly of the needle e.

With this arrangement it will be noted that in any case after two loops of thread have been placed on a single needle, those two loops are not further entered by the narrowing points, and that it is only needles which have single loops thereon on which the loops are entered more than once. It will, of course, be understood that the same action takes place at the other side of the fabric by the right hand comb 50 and its actuating mechanism.

From the foregoing description of certain embodiments of this invention and the methods carried out in accordance therewith, it should be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. The method of narrowing knitted fabric in a single course during knitting while the fabric loops of the course are held on the knitting needles, which comprises simultaneously delivering all the loops outwardly of a selected needle to the same extent inwardly onto other needles whereby each needle receiving such loops inwardly of the needles from which loops were removed has two loops thereon, then delivering inwardly equally to other needles all but a predetermined number of the loops next outwardly of the number which have two loops thereon by reason of the previous delivery and repeating this latter operation until each of a plurality of loop-carrying needlesoutwardly of said selected needle carries two loops.

2. The method of narrowing knitted fabric in a single course during knitting while the fabric loops of a course are held on the knitting needles, which comprises delivering each loop on all needles outwardly oi. a selected needle inwardly to the next adjacent needle, then delivering inwardly to the next adjacent needle each loop on 00 said needles to make a succession of knitted courses, a reciprocable yarn carrier, at stop for limiting the stroke of said yarn carrier at each end in accordance with the width of the fabric being knit, a screw threaded through each stop for adjusting the position of said stop by rotation of said screw, narrowing mechanism comprising a threaded spindle, a nut threaded on said spindle, narrowing points operatively connected to said nut, means for raising and lowering said points with respect to said needles, means actuable to render said knitting mechanism inoperative to knit and said narrowing mechanism operative, said narrowing mechanism including ratchet devices carried by said screw and spindle and means for actuating said devices in accordance with a predetermined cycle, said cycle consisting in causing said points to take loops of thread from each needle inwardly from the fabric margin to a predetermined depth and to deliver all of said loops inwardly by a predetermined number of needles and to move the carrier stop inwardly by the same number of needles, and then to move said points outwardly by double said predetermined number of needles free from loops and while said stop is stationary, and repeating said cycle until each of a plurality of needles outwardly of said predetermined depth and which carry loops carries a pair of loops.

4. A method of changing the width of knitted fabric having a course of loops on the needles of an en masse movable bank, which comprises moving a comb laterally alternately in opposite directions along said bank, the extent of such comb movements being less in one direction than in the opposite direction, causing said comb when moving in the direction of less extent only to transfer loops of yarn from needle to needle, and repeating such alternate lateral movements and loop transfers a plurality of times.

5. A method of narrowing a knit fabric having a course of loops on the needles of an en masse movable bank which comprises shifting a group of loop engaging points course-wise in opposite directions in a cycle and repeating such cycle a plurality of times, the movement of the combs in one direction being of greater extent than the movement of combs in the opposite direction in each cycle, said combs being free of loops during their movements of greatest extent in each cycle and transferring loops coursewise in their opposite movements in each cycle.

JOHN H. STRAUSSBERGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,168,194 Dietrich Nov. 2, 1987 2,198,559 Held Apr. 23, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,428 Great Britain of 1893 558,301 Great Britain Dec. 80, 1943 611,791 Germany Apr. 9, 1935 

